As Congress faces tough questions about our fiscal future, we also have a unique opportunity to advance bipartisan energy policy that will create jobs. Putting Americans to work by expanding the nation’s access to clean, affordable hydropower is a solution on which the House of Representatives already found consensus. Indeed, when we passed the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act earlier this year, we acted unanimously — the only example of unanimity on an energy issue in this Congress. That is why we urge the Senate to take up and pass this hydropower legislation before the end of the year…

The Department of Energy reports that more than 12 gigawatts of capacity could be installed at our nation’s existing non-powered dams. That’s the equivalent of 12 nuclear power plants. In fact, only 3 percent of the country’s 80,000 dams currently have generation facilities. Many developers are also exploring smaller applications, including construction in engineered irrigation conduits.

The potential of hydropower to create jobs is also enormous. A 2010 study conducted by the National Hydropower Association revealed that by utilizing currently untapped resources, the U.S. could add approximately 60,000 megawatts of new hydropower by 2025, creating up to 700,000 jobs in the process. It is estimated that for every megawatt of new small hydropower installed at existing dams without hydropower, 5.3 jobs are created (including direct, indirect and induced jobs). With jobs still scarce for too many Americans, we should be looking at every opportunity to put Americans back to work.

Here’s a guest column, written by Jim Lochhead and Dan Jirón, that’s running in The Denver Post. Here’s an excerpt:

We can’t prevent fire from occurring, but healthy forests can reduce the threat of catastrophic fire, like we experienced this year. Denver Water and the U.S. Forest Service have for decades worked side-by-side to care for the watersheds that provide water to Colorado citizens and Denver Water’s customers. Two years ago we forged a partnership — called “From Forests to Faucets” — to work in high-priority watersheds to accelerate forest health treatments that promote healthier, more resilient forests, reduce wildfire risks, restore burned areas and lessen erosion into reservoirs.

Last week, Denver Water and the U.S. Forest Service signed the third annual commitment of funds in support of this partnership. Together, we are focused on treating and restoring 38,000 acres of National Forest System lands in five priority watersheds including the Upper South Platte, South Platte headwaters, Colorado River headwaters, St. Vrain and Blue River. Since the From Forests to Faucets partnership began in 2010, we are currently treating nearly 17,000 acres.

Click on the thumbnail for the current Statewide Basin High/Low ogive. The NRCS statewide map that I usually show is out of sync with the graph. They are working on it, according to Mage Hultstrand. She told me via email:

The High Low graph is using the “old” 1971-2000 averages and includes all the SNOTEL sites in the basin (with averages).

The statewide update map has already been switched over to the “new” 1981-2010 normals. We have not yet completed the calculations of these new normals for all of our sites; as a result this map does not include all the sites across the state or in the South Platte basin yet. That’s why I showed the high low graph instead of the map at the [Water Availability Task Force] meeting. For right now it is the more accurate representation of conditions across the state.

We plan to have all the new calculations done by January 1 and then the two products will both be updated with the new averages and should match.

With ten consecutive months of below average precipitation, the 2012 water year, which ended on September 30th, saw just 75% of normal precipitation. November has continued on a below average trend; although a storm around Veteran’s day brought beneficial moisture to the mountains, slightly boosting statewide precipitation from 54% on November 1st to 58% as of the 19th. At this early stage in the snow accumulation seasons, snowpack is at 45% of average. Despite a cooler October, November temperatures are above seasonal averages. Currently, this calendar year ranks as the 2nd warmest on record (1895-2012) with a statewide average temperature of 51.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

 As of the November 20, 2012 US Drought Monitor, 100% of Colorado is experiencing some level of drought classification. D2 (severe) and D3 (extreme) cover nearly 79% of the state, while 13% of the state is experiencing exceptional drought (D4), isolated to the eastern plains. This is a slight decrease in D4 classification since the start of the water year on October 1, 2012.

 Many municipalities that had implemented both voluntary and mandatory watering restrictions earlier in the year will keep these in place throughout the winter. Through the irrigation season Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) saw consumption increase to the highest levels since 2002; consequently reservoir levels are the lowest since 2002. Other communities are closely watching the situation and have some concern should the drought conditions persist for another year.

 Statewide reservoir storage is at 66% of average and 37% of capacity. The highest storage levels are in the Yampa/ White River Basin, at 96% of average while the lowest storage in the state is the Rio Grande River basin at 47% of average. All other basins range from 61% to 73% of average and 17% to 52% of total capacity.

 Many basins that were able to rebound following the 2002 drought are reporting reservoir levels that have not been seen in nearly a decade; while others that were not able to fully rebound to normal levels post the 2002drought continue to report below average reservoir levels.

 Surface Water Supply Index values have improved in some areas (Huerfano, Cache La Poudre & Big Thompson) and deteriorated in others. The central portions of the state as well as the southwestern corner have seen the largest decline. This is largely due to decreased stream flows and decreased storage levels. During this time of the year the SWSI is calculated using observed, rather than forecasted, stream flow volumes.

 For the first time in nine years ENSO-neutral conditions are likely to dominate through the winter months. Without El Nino or La Nina influencing weather patterns, it is difficult to determine when the current drought regime will be broken in Colorado. The latest long term experimental forecast, issued November 19th, shows below-normal chances of moisture from January to March throughout much of Colorado. This is based largely on other factors such as a cold north Pacific (PDO) and a warm North Atlantic (AMO).

Colorado snowpack through November is only 43 percent of normal, raising concerns that a statewide drought may be entering its second year.

The statewide water availability task force, meeting last week in Denver, pointed to several indicators that drought is continuing. The most extreme drought is in the Lower Arkansas Valley — Crowley, Otero, Kiowa, Bent, Las Animas and Prowers counties — where the drought could be entering its third year. Despite a widespread storm on Veterans Day, snowpack is at 43 percent of normal statewide. The Arkansas River basin is in the worst shape at 26 percent, while the Colorado River basin, which supplies supplemental water to this basin, is at 44 percent.

The Rio Grande basin snowpack is at 43 percent.

Early snow levels are not a good indicator of water availability for 2013, since most of the snow in Colorado falls in March and April. Coupled with last year’s subpar snowpack, however, a dry winter could spell trouble.

Statewide reservoir storage is at two­thirds of average and just 37 percent of capacity. were able to rebound following the 2002 drought are reporting reservoir levels that have not been seen in nearly a decade,” said Taryn Finnessey, of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and co­chair of the task force.

Some cities are extending outdoor water restrictions into winter months.

Pueblo did not put restrictions in place, but was forced to draw down water held in storage to meet increased demand.

The task force also noted that temperatures in November were again above normal, as 2012 has been the second warmest year on record. The warmest was 1934.

￼￼￼￼￼Long­term forecasts call for drier than normal conditions through March.

In recent memory, the 2007-08 season started off dry and ended up wet. Last season — one of the worst snow years on record — started out snowy. You can never tell what December and the rest of the season will bring based on November weather, but that doesn’t help local hotels waiting for December bookings to fill up.

The sunny skies are unsettling, said Meteorologist Joel Gratz, who runs the powder forecasting site www.opensnow.com.

Gratz points out that weather, or storm tracks, often gets stuck in a pattern. Over the last decade or so, he said those patterns have tended to persist for 2 to 4 weeks and then they change. Last season, however, the pattern never really flipped, Gratz said.

“That was the first time I had seen that in a long, long time,” he said. “We were on the wrong side of the storm track and nothing really shifted, and the last few weeks we’ve been on the wrong side of the storm track and nothing has really shifted. … It’s unsettling to see this now. I don’t know if it’s going to change or not. I have no clue.”[…]

Sites like www.accuweather.com predict weather a month in advance. That site shows the Vail area turning to a colder, snowier pattern around mid-December, but Gratz said you just can’t scientifically predict weather that far in advance.

He does see a storm heading toward Colorado around Monday, but he only expects 2-4 inches out of that storm, if that.

It’s still a bit too early to pin down the exact timing or amounts, but the models are somewhat consistent with this storm hitting Colorado, so I’ll jump on the band wagon,” Gratz wrote in his Tuesday forecast. “At this point I wouldn’t expect much more than a 2-4 inch event, but maybe if we get lucky there could be talk of six inches.”

Gratz has looked at some historical data over the last 30 years and said there have been maybe 2 to 4 seasons that had an equally slow start like this season. Half of those seasons turned out about average, and half turned out below average, he said.

The town’s board voted Tuesday to raise household trash collection rates by a dollar (to $10.65 a month) and overall water rates by 20 percent. The trash charge passed unanimously; the water increase passed 4-1 with Trustee Rafer Burnham against and Trustee Jim Wollack absent. Burnham said he knew rates needed to go up, but that he wanted to see a discount for those who conserved water, and not just higher rates for heavier users…

Frederick hasn’t raised its water rates since 2005. Town manager Matt LeCerf said the town needed to catch up on accumulating expenses and to start saving toward its share of the Northern Integrated Supply Project, a project to bring 40,000 acre-feet of water to 15 partners in the northern Front Range, including Dacono, Firestone and Frederick. The town plans to pay $6.2 million toward NISP design and engineering.

Without the increase, LeCerf said, the water utility fund will be in the hole by 2017. “We’re getting behind the ball, so to speak,” he said.

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Here’s the pitch:

Farmers play a critical role in Colorado. To support the food and fiber they provide to the rest of us, agriculture receives more than 85 percent of the state’s water deliveries. Read the latest issue of Headwaters to learn about the value of water for Colorado agriculture, how water is managed during drought years, the innovation that farmers make to survive and much more.